Hardwood Floor - Flooring Board Widths and Installation Patterns - Part 2

Your hardwood floor installation pattern will shape the look of the floor, the placement of furniture and also the movement in the room. On the other hand, the limited installation patterns are hugely different from each other. So, a considered choice is required. Here is a brief description of these patterns.

• Straight Pattern: The most common and primary of the installation pattern is straight. Hardwood floor, flooring boards are installed parallel to each other along with the length or width of the room. This pattern is used to create simple and contemporary designs, enhancing the original look of the hardwood floor. Being the most simple and easy, the straight pattern is also the least expensive of the presently available installation patterns. All the other patterns are costly because of consumption of extra wood and additional charges for longer installation time.

• Random Pattern: The random pattern is installed in a straight-forward, parallel design, but involves a mixture of hardwood floor flooring boards with different widths. You can choose the ratio of wide and narrow boards. This pattern often results in cost savings. The flooring will have a rustic look, with added movement to the room and energetic feel.

• Diagonal Pattern: This pattern adds a formal touch of luxury to a room without drifting away from a traditional straight installation of a hardwood floor. Flooring boards are installed parallel to each other but laid at a 45 degree angle to the walls.

• Parquet Pattern: Parquet installation is the laying of wood flooring planks in a repeated geometric pattern. This pattern results in a hardwood floor with the appearance of a checkerboard, sometimes with more complex patterns within each checkerboard square. Additionally, the variety in patterns is practically limitless. The parquet pattern gives a very distinct and sophisticated look to a room. Traditional parquet installation is expensive and rare. It has now been replaced with prefabricated square modules with parquet patterns laid out in a wood veneer.

• Herringbone pattern: In a herringbone pattern, the hardwood floor strips of are laid in a diagonal zigzag plan that looks like a twilled fabric. This pattern can be laid out in the traditional manner or with square modules, like the parquet design.

Finishing Touches: The installation patterns of the hardwood floor are completed or furnished with a perimeter border and other decorative touches like mosaic medallions. These furnishings are made of wood, natural stone, or alternative materials like glass and metal tiles. The perimeter border frames the room, separating it from adjacent spaces and adding formality to it. Inlays like mosaics add custom individuality to a room.